Information processing device, information processing method, program, and information processing system

Abstract

To efficiently operate tournament games using a plurality of courts.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 1 has: a player management part 131 which determines a plurality of players P to compete in a match in an usable court among a plurality of players, and transmits a token including a game ID and a court ID to information terminals 2 that the plurality of players P use respectively; and a score management part 132 which enables scores of the game in which the plurality of players P competed to be recorded after the player management part 131 transmits a token on condition that a combination of a game ID and a court ID input by an umpire's terminal matches the combination of the game ID and court ID included in the token that the player management part 131 transmits.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and an information processing system for supporting the management of a tournament competition. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for determining players to compete in a tournament-style game is known, as described in Patent Document 1. Also known is a service for supporting the management of tournament-style competitions, such as the service described in Non-Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3821443 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In tournaments for sports such as table tennis or badminton, many courts are used. When players are selected to compete in games where many courts are not used, the courts that the selected players will use are not taken into consideration, as in the technology described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, this technology is not suitable for managing competitions where multiple sports are played on multiple courts.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to improve the efficiency of the management of tournament-style competitions that are held on multiple courts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing device for supporting the management of a tournament competition held using multiple courts, and has: a player management unit that determines a first player and a second player from among multiple players who will compete in a match to be held on an available court; and sends a token to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first player and the second player from among multiple matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played; and a score management unit that enables the score of the match between the first player and the second player to be recorded, provided that after the player management unit sends the token, the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token sent by the player management unit.

[0007] In response to the score being recorded by the score management unit, the player management unit may determine the first player and the second player who will compete in the next match on the court where the match for which the score was recorded by the score management unit was played.

[0008] The score management unit may cause the referee terminal to display a screen for entering a score, provided that the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token sent by the athlete management unit.

[0009] The information processing device may further have a memory unit that stores first status information associated with the multiple athletes, the first status information indicating whether the athletes are in a state where they can compete or a state where they cannot compete, and the athlete management unit may select the first athlete and the second athlete whose first status information indicates that they are in a state where they can compete.

[0010] The information processing device may further include a status management unit that changes the first status information of a player who has transmitted predetermined information posted at a venue where the tournament is held to a status where the player is available to compete.

[0011] The information processing device may further have a status management unit that, when the athlete management unit selects the first athlete and the second athlete, changes the first status information corresponding to the first athlete and the first status information corresponding to the second athlete to a state where they cannot compete, and when the score management unit records the score of a match in which the first athlete and the second athlete compete, changes the first status information of the first athlete and the second athlete to a state where they can compete.

[0012] The information processing device may further have a memory unit that stores second status information associated with the multiple competitors, indicating whether or not they are in a eliminated state in the tournament competition in which they are participating, and the competitor management unit may select the first competitor and the second competitor whose second status information does not indicate a eliminated state.

[0013] A combination of the match ID and the court ID is input to the referee terminal in association with each of the first athlete and the second athlete, and the information processing device may further have a status management unit that sets the second status information corresponding to the athlete for whom the combination of the match ID and the court ID is not input within a predetermined time period after the token is sent to a defeated state.

[0014] The information processing device may further have a memory unit that stores, in association with the plurality of athletes, first status information indicating whether the athletes are in a state where they can compete or a state where they cannot compete, and second status information indicating whether the athletes are in a state where they have been eliminated from a tournament competition in which they are participating, among the plurality of tournament competitions that are held using the plurality of courts, and the athlete management unit may select, for each match of the plurality of tournament competitions, the first athletes and the second athletes whose first status information indicates a state where they can compete and whose second status information does not indicate a state where they have been eliminated.

[0015] The information processing device may further have a memory unit that stores status information associated with a group, the status information indicating whether the group is in a competition-enabled state or a competition-disabled state, and the athlete management unit may select athletes who belong to a group whose status information indicates a competition-enabled state as the first athlete and the second athlete.

[0016] The information processing device further has a memory unit that stores participation information associated with the plurality of competitors and indicates the tournament competitions in which the competitors will participate among the plurality of tournament competitions held using the plurality of courts, and the competitor management unit may, when there is a court available for a match, refer to the participation information to preferentially determine the first competitor and the second competitor for a match in the tournament competition with a relatively large number of participants.

[0017] The information processing device may further have a memory unit that stores the court ID, the first athlete, the second athlete, and court status information indicating the status of the court corresponding to the court ID in association with each other; a status management unit that sets the court status information to a preparation state after the athlete management unit sends the token, and sets the court status information to a match in progress state when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of a game ID and a court ID included in the token is input to the referee terminal; and an information provision unit that, when input of the court ID from an information terminal, provides the information terminal with the state indicated by the court status information corresponding to the court ID.

[0018] The information processing device further has a memory unit that stores court status information, associated with the court ID, indicating whether a match is in progress or not, and a status management unit that changes the court status information to an in-game state when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of the game ID and the court ID included in the token is input to the referee terminal after the athlete management unit has transmitted the token, and changes the court status information to a not-in-game state when the score management unit has recorded a score or when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of the game ID and the court ID included in the token is not input to the referee terminal within a predetermined time after the athlete management unit transmitted the token, and the athlete management unit may determine the first athlete and the second athlete who will play a match on a court for which the court status information indicates a not-in-game state, and transmit the token.

[0019] An information processing method of a second aspect of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer to support the management of a tournament competition held using multiple courts, and includes the steps of: determining a first player and a second player from among multiple players, who will compete in a match to be played on available courts; transmitting a token to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first player and the second player from among multiple matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played; and enabling the score of the match between the first player and the second player to be recorded, on condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at the referee terminal after transmitting the token matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the transmitted token.

[0020] A third aspect of the program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: determining a first athlete and a second athlete from among a plurality of athletes who will compete in a match to be played on an available court; transmitting a token to a first information terminal used by the first athlete and a second information terminal used by the second athlete, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first athlete and the second athlete from among a plurality of matches included in a tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played; and, after transmitting the token, enabling recording of the score of the match between the first athlete and the second athlete, on the condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the transmitted token.

[0021] An information processing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises an information processing device for supporting the management of a tournament competition held using a plurality of courts, and information terminals used by players participating in the tournament competition. The information processing device determines a first player and a second player from among a plurality of players who will compete in a match to be played on an available court, and has a player management unit that transmits a token to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first player and the second player from among a plurality of matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played. After the player management unit transmits the token, the score of the match between the first player and the second player can be recorded, provided that the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at a referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the player management unit. Upon receiving the token, the information terminal displays the match ID and court ID included in the received token. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] The present invention has the effect of making it possible to efficiently manage tournament-style competitions that are held on multiple courts. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an information processing system S. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an information processing system S. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a message displayed on the information terminal 2 of athlete P who has completed the athlete registration process. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the information terminal 2 that has received the token. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a game information input screen displayed on a referee terminal used by a referee. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a score registration screen for registering a score. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a state transition diagram showing the state transitions of players participating in a tournament competition. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing device 1. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of athlete data. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of group data. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of court data. [Figure 12] 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the information processing device 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] [Outline of Information Processing System S] 1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating an overview of an information processing system S. The information processing system S includes an information processing device 1 and a plurality of information terminals 2 that can transmit and receive data to and from the information processing device 1.

[0025] The information processing device 1 is a computer, such as a server, that supports the management of a tournament held using multiple courts. The information processing device 1 is managed, for example, by a company that provides services to support the management of tournaments, and executes processing to support the tournament in response to requests from a computer (not shown) used by the tournament organizer. The information processing device 1 may be installed at the venue where the tournament is held, or may be installed externally as a cloud server.

[0026] The process for supporting a tournament competition is, for example, a process for managing information about players P participating in the tournament competition, determining which players P will play on available courts, and providing the determined players P with information about the courts on which the matches will be played. The information processing device 1 may support only one tournament competition, or may support multiple tournament competitions in parallel. A player P may be a single person or a team including multiple people.

[0027] A tournament is a competition in which the winners of matches play against each other in a knockout format to determine the winner. Since one player or team of players P is eliminated in each match, in a tournament the number of matches played is one less than the number of players P participating in the competition. In a tournament, the pairings for all matches up to the final may be decided in advance, or the pairings may be decided as the competition progresses. In the latter case, for example, when one match ends and an empty court becomes available, the pairings for the next match are decided. The pairings for matches played in N rounds (N is an integer greater than or equal to 2) may be decided after all matches in the N-1 round have been completed.

[0028] The information terminal 2 is a terminal used by a player participating in the tournament, and is, for example, a smartphone or tablet. The information terminal 2 can send and receive various data to and from the information processing device 1, for example, using application software that sends and receives messages in chat format. For example, the information terminal 2 sends to the information processing device 1 data indicating that player P has arrived at the venue where the tournament is being held. The information terminal 2 receives data from the information processing device 1 for identifying the court on which the match will be played.

[0029] 3 to 6 are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the information terminal 2. Fig. 7 is a state transition diagram showing the state transitions of athletes participating in a tournament competition. Below, an overview of the information processing system S will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 7, when athlete P arrives at the tournament venue, the information terminal 2 executes a competitor registration process, which notifies the information processing device 1 that athlete P has arrived at the venue and makes the athlete P ready to compete. When athlete P arrives at the venue, the information terminal 2 may read predetermined information (e.g., a two-dimensional image code) installed at the venue, or may input information about his or her arrival into the information terminal 2. When athlete P performs these operations, the information terminal 2 transmits registration data to the information processing device 1. When the information processing device 1 receives the registration data, it sets the status of athlete P who transmitted the registration data to a "competition-ready state (S1)" as shown in FIG. 7.

[0031] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a message displayed on the information terminal 2 of athlete P after the athlete registration process has been completed. The message shows an athlete ID for identifying athlete P and a tournament number, which is a competition ID for identifying the tournament competition in which athlete P is participating.

[0032] When a court available for a match (i.e., an empty court) occurs among the multiple courts in the venue, the information processing device 1 notifies two players P selected from the multiple players P who are available for competition that the match can be played. At this time, the information processing device 1 transmits a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a state in which the information processing device 1 transmits a court ID to two players P-1 and P-2 who are playing a match on an empty court. A match ID is assigned to each of the multiple matches played in a tournament, and a court ID is also assigned to each of the multiple courts used in the tournament. The match ID is, for example, a number randomly determined by the information processing device 1. The court ID is, for example, a number assigned in the order in which the courts are arranged, and player P is provided with information indicating the position of the court corresponding to each court ID.

[0034] The information processing device 1 transmits a token including the court ID of the vacant court and the match ID of the match to be played on that court to the information terminals 2-1 and 2-2 used by the two players P-1 and P-2. In this specification, the information processing device 1 transmitting the token including the match ID and court ID is referred to as "making a call."

[0035] As shown in Figure 7, the called player P enters the "unavailable to play state (S2)" and is not selected as a player P to play in a match on a newly vacant court. If the player P wins the match, he / she returns to the "available to play state (S1)", and if the player P loses the match, he / she transitions to the "eliminated state (S3)".

[0036] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the information terminal 2 that has received the token. The screen shown in Fig. 4 shows that the court number corresponding to the court ID is "15" and the match ID is "749." Fig. 1 shows that athlete P-3, who was defeated in the previous match held on the court with the court ID of 15, is waiting.

[0037] When the call screen shown in Fig. 4 is displayed on the information terminal 2 used by each of the players P-1 and P-2, they move to the court listed on the call screen. As shown in Fig. 2, the players P-1 and P-2 communicate the match ID and court ID listed on the call screen to the referee on the court where the match is being played. The referee is, for example, the player P who lost the match played immediately before on the court where the match is being played, and in Fig. 1, the player P-3 serves as the referee. The information terminal 2-3 used by the player P who serves as the referee functions as the referee terminal.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a match information input screen displayed on the referee terminal used by the referee. Athlete P-3 inputs the court ID and match ID declared by athletes P-1 and P-2 into the match information input screen. A match information input screen corresponding to each of multiple athletes P may be displayed on the information terminal 2-3 functioning as a referee terminal. A combination of a match ID and a court ID may be input into the referee terminal in association with each of the called first athlete P and second athlete P. In this case, multiple athletes P may input the court ID and the match ID into the match information input screen of the referee terminal.

[0039] 2, when a court ID and a game ID are input on the game information input screen, the information terminal 2-3 functioning as a referee terminal transmits the input court ID and game ID to the information processing device 1. When the information terminal 2-3 displays a game information input screen corresponding to each of multiple players P, the information terminal 2-3 may transmit multiple sets of court IDs and game IDs declared by the multiple players P to the information processing device 1.

[0040] The information processing device 1 determines whether the combination of the game ID and court ID received from the information terminal 2-3 matches the combination of the game ID and court ID included in the tokens sent to the information terminals 2-1 and 2-2 used by the players P-1 and P-2 who will play a match on the court corresponding to the information terminal 2-3. If the information processing device 1 determines that they match, it notifies the information terminal 2-3 that the match can begin.

[0041] If the information processing device 1 determines that there is no match, it notifies the information terminal 2-3 that there is an error in the court ID or the game ID. The information processing device 1 may store the court ID of the court where the game in which player P-3 lost was played in association with the information terminal 2-3, and notify the information terminal 2-3 that there is an error in the court ID if the court ID transmitted from the information terminal 2-3 does not match the stored court ID. This makes it possible for player P-1 or player P-2, or player P-3 acting as a referee, to realize that they are not on the correct court.

[0042] When the information terminal 2-3 functioning as the referee terminal receives a notification from the information processing device 1 indicating that the match can be started and that the score may be registered, the information terminal 2-3 is ready to transmit the match score to the information processing device 1. As an example, in response to receiving the notification indicating that the score may be registered, the information terminal 2-3 displays a screen for inputting the match score.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a score registration screen for registering scores. Athlete P-3, who serves as a referee, inputs a score after each game or set of a match. When the "send" button is pressed, for example, the information terminal 2-3 transmits the input score to the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 stores the received score in association with each of the multiple athletes P who played in the match. In addition, the information processing device 1 transitions the state of an athlete P who wins a match to a "ready to compete state (S1)" and the state of an athlete P who loses a match to a "defeated state (S3)."

[0044] By operating the information processing device 1 and information terminal 2 as described above, in a tournament where matches are played on multiple courts, as soon as a court becomes available, the court ID can be notified to multiple players P playing on that court, thereby improving the efficiency of court usage. The configuration and operation of the information processing device 1 will be described in detail below.

[0045] [Configuration of information processing device 1] 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of information processing device 1. Information processing device 1 has a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. Control unit 13 has an athlete management unit 131, a score management unit 132, a status management unit 133, and an information provision unit 134.

[0046] The communication unit 11 has a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from multiple information terminals 2. For example, when the communication unit 11 receives registration data for registering an athlete P as an athlete from an information terminal 2, the communication unit 11 notifies the athlete management unit 131 of the registration data. In addition, the communication unit 11 transmits a token for a call to the information terminal 2 of the athlete P who is scheduled to play a match. Furthermore, when the communication unit 11 receives a score from the information terminal 2 used by the athlete P who is acting as a referee, the communication unit 11 notifies the score management unit 132 of the received score.

[0047] The memory unit 12 has storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and SSD (Solid State Drive). The memory unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 13. The memory unit 12 also stores various data used by the control unit 13 to execute processes to support the management of the competition. The memory unit 12 stores athlete data including information about athlete P. The memory unit 12 also stores group data including information about the group to which athlete P belongs. Furthermore, the memory unit 12 stores court data indicating the condition of each court.

[0048] The storage unit 12 stores first status information, associated with a plurality of players P, indicating whether the players P are in a playable state or a play-ineligible state. The storage unit 12 also stores second status information, associated with a plurality of players P, indicating whether the players P are in a lost state in a tournament competition in which the players P are participating, among a plurality of tournament competitions. The storage unit 12 may store status information, associated with a group to which the plurality of players P belong, indicating whether the players P are in a playable state or a play-ineligible state. The storage unit 12 may store participation information, associated with a plurality of players P, indicating a tournament competition in which the players P will participate, among a plurality of tournament competitions held using a plurality of courts.

[0049] 9 is a diagram showing an example of athlete data, which associates an athlete ID, athlete name, participation information, competition status, elimination status, belonging group, game ID, and court ID.

[0050] The "athlete ID" is a character string or number assigned to the athlete P who has completed the athlete registration process to identify the athlete P. The "participation information" is information indicating the tournament competition in which the athlete P will participate if multiple tournament competitions are held. FA indicates a women's singles competition, FWA a women's doubles competition, MA a men's singles competition, and MWA a men's doubles competition.

[0051] "Competition status" is the first status information that indicates whether or not the player is in a competition-available state as shown in Figure 7. In Figure 9, a "yes" indicates a competition-available state, and an "x" indicates a competition-ineligible state. A new match cannot be assigned to the player P to whom the court ID and game ID are assigned, so the player P to whom the court ID and game ID are assigned is in a competition-ineligible state.

[0052] "Elimination status" is second status information that indicates whether or not athlete P has been eliminated. The athlete data may include second status information that indicates the elimination status for each tournament competition in which athlete P participates. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the elimination status column for athletes P with athlete IDs P0004 and P0005 contains "MA," which is information that identifies the tournament competition in which the athlete has been eliminated.

[0053] Athlete P with athlete ID P0004 was eliminated from tournament competition MA and is therefore unable to play a match, and is therefore in an incompetence state. Athlete P with athlete ID P0005 was eliminated from tournament competition MA, but was not eliminated from tournament competition MWA, and is therefore in an available state to compete. The information processing device 1 does not assign such a athlete P to matches in tournament competition MA, but does assign him or her to matches in tournament competition MWA.

[0054] "Group" is the name of the organization (school or club) to which Athlete P belongs. "Court ID" is the ID of the court on which the match assigned to Athlete P will be played. "Match ID" is the ID of the match assigned to Athlete P.

[0055] The athlete data may include the match results, start time, and end time of each athlete P. The athlete data may also include attribute information about each athlete P, such as years of experience, grade, and past performance.

[0056] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of group data. In the group data shown in Fig. 10, a group ID, a group name, and information indicating whether the athlete P belonging to each group is in a state where they can compete or a state where they cannot compete are associated. In Fig. 10, the "Competition status" is marked with "o" if the athlete P belonging to the group is in a state where they can compete.

[0057] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of court data. By storing court data, the storage unit 12 associates and stores a court ID, a first athlete P, a second athlete P, and court status information indicating the status of the court corresponding to the court ID. In the court data shown in FIG. 11, the court ID, the game ID of the next game to be played on that court, the athlete ID of the first athlete P who will play that game, the athlete ID of the second athlete P, the referee ID which is the ID of the athlete P who will referee that game, and the court status information are associated with each other. The court status information is information indicating whether a game is being played on the court or not.

[0058] "Not in a match" indicates that the court is vacant and the next match can be played. "Calling" indicates that a player P has been assigned to the court but the match has not yet started. "In a match" indicates that a match is in progress. Court data is updated each time a match on each court ends or a player P for a match on each court is decided.

[0059] The storage unit 12 may store score data in which a match ID and a score are associated with each other. The storage unit 12 may store the score in association with the athlete IDs of the multiple athletes P who played each match, along with the match ID.

[0060] The operation of each part of the control unit 13 will be described below with reference to FIG. The athlete management unit 131 determines a athlete P who will play a match on an empty court where no match is being played. That is, the athlete management unit 131 determines a first athlete P and a second athlete P who will compete against each other in a match to be played on an available court from among multiple athlete P. The athlete management unit 131 determines the first athlete P and the second athlete P who will play a match on a court where the court status information included in the court data stored in the memory unit 12 indicates a non-matching status, and transmits a token to the information terminals 2 used by the first athlete P and the second athlete P.

[0061] The athlete management unit 131 transmits, via the communication unit 11, to the first information terminal (e.g., information terminal 2-1) used by the first athlete P and the second information terminal (e.g., information terminal 2-2) used by the second athlete P, a token including a match ID for identifying the match between the first athlete P and the second athlete P among the multiple matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played.

[0062] When starting a tournament, the player management unit 131 determines the match IDs of the matches to be played on all available courts and the multiple players P who will play each match. After that, in response to the score recording by the score management unit 132, the player management unit 131 determines the first player P and the second player P who will compete in the next match on the court where the match whose score was recorded by the score management unit 132 was played.

[0063] When selecting the first athlete P and the second athlete P, the athlete management unit 131 selects, from a plurality of athlete P, the first athlete P and the second athlete P whose first status information indicates a state where they can play. The athlete management unit 131 selects the first athlete P and the second athlete P whose second status information does not indicate a state where they have been eliminated. The athlete management unit 131 may select the first athlete P and the second athlete P whose first status information indicates a state where they can play and whose second status information does not indicate a state where they have been eliminated in the tournament competition from which the first athlete P and the second athlete P are selected. This allows a athlete P who can start the match promptly to be called, thereby shortening the time the court is available.

[0064] When there are three or more athletes P who are available to compete, the athlete management unit 131 may refer to the end time of the most recent match included in the athlete data and preferentially select an athlete P for whom a long time has elapsed since the end time of the most recent match. The athlete management unit 131 may also select an athlete P on the condition that a threshold or more of time has elapsed since the end time of the most recent match. This prevents an athlete P from playing a match immediately after finishing a match.

[0065] The athlete management unit 131 may refer to attribute information in the athlete data stored in the storage unit 12 and preferentially select multiple athletes P with attributes that satisfy predetermined conditions. As an example, the athlete management unit 131 may preferentially select multiple athletes P in the same school year, or multiple athletes P with similar past performance levels.

[0066] However, if, when each athlete P arrives at the venue, all of the athlete P read information such as a two-dimensional image code installed at the venue and perform an operation for the information terminal 2 to transmit the registration data to the information processing device 1, it would take a long time to register the athlete P. Therefore, first status information may be managed for each group, and the athlete management unit 131 may select, as the first athlete P and the second athlete P, athletes belonging to a group whose first status information indicates a state in which they are available to compete. In this way, when all of the athlete P belonging to a group arrive at the venue, the group representative may perform an operation to put all of the group in a state in which they are available to compete, thereby enabling all of the athlete P to play in a match.

[0067] When multiple tournament competitions are being held in parallel, the athlete management unit 131 selects, for each match in the multiple tournament competitions, a first athlete P and a second athlete P whose first status information indicates a state where they can play and whose second status information does not indicate a state where they have been eliminated. When a vacant court becomes available, the athlete management unit 131 selects a athlete P who can play in a match in any of the tournament competitions. This makes it possible to efficiently progress a large number of matches in multiple tournament competitions at a single venue.

[0068] Incidentally, when multiple tournament competitions are held in parallel, it is desirable that the final matches of each tournament competition be held at approximately the same time. Therefore, when there are courts available for matches, the player management unit 131 may refer to participation information about the players P participating in each tournament competition and thereby prioritize the first player P and the second player P of a match in a tournament competition with a relatively large number of participants. After all first-round matches in the tournament competition with the most participants are completed, the player management unit 131 may refer to the second status information and thereby prioritize the first player P and the second player P of a match in a tournament competition with a relatively large number of participants who have not been eliminated. This prioritizes matches in tournament competitions with a relatively large number of remaining matches, making it more likely that the final matches of each tournament competition will be held at approximately the same time.

[0069] The score management unit 132 enables the referee terminal to record scores and stores scores transmitted from the referee terminal in the memory unit 12. After the athlete management unit 131 transmits the token, the score management unit 132 enables the score of a match in which the first athlete P and the second athlete P compete against each other, on the condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID input at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit 131. Specifically, the score management unit 132 displays a screen for inputting a score on the referee terminal, on the condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID input at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit 131.

[0070] More specifically, when the combination of the game ID and court ID input at the referee terminal matches the combination of the game ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit 131, the score management unit 132 transmits data to the information terminal 2 to permit the display of the score input screen. On the other hand, when the combination of the game ID and court ID input at the referee terminal does not match the combination of the game ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit 131, the score management unit 132 transmits data to the information terminal 2 indicating that the display of the score input screen is not permitted. By operating in this manner, the score management unit 132 can prevent an uncalled athlete P from mistakenly playing a game.

[0071] The score management unit 132 may receive data (e.g., court ID or position data) indicating the location of the court where the referee is located from the referee terminal, and may send data to the referee terminal indicating that display of the score input screen is permitted on the condition that the court ID received from the referee terminal matches the court ID entered at the referee terminal based on the declaration of the athlete P. This prevents the match from starting on the wrong court when the called athlete P declares the correct match ID and court ID to the referee of the wrong court.

[0072] When a score is sent from the referee terminal, the score management unit 132 associates the score with the match ID and stores the score in the storage unit 12. The score management unit 132 may store the score in the storage unit 12 in association with the athlete IDs of multiple athletes P who played in the match, along with the match ID.

[0073] The status management unit 133 manages various statuses related to the athlete P, the competition, or the court. For example, the status management unit 133 changes the first status information of the athlete P who has transmitted predetermined information posted at the venue where the tournament competition is held to a playable state. The predetermined information is information assigned to the venue, such as a two-dimensional image code. The status management unit 133 may update the first status information corresponding to the athlete P when the athlete P performs an operation on the information terminal 2 to select either a playable state or an unplayable state.

[0074] When the athlete management unit 131 selects the first athlete P and the second athlete P as the athlete P who will play in the next match, the status management unit 133 changes the first status information corresponding to the first athlete P and the first status information corresponding to the second athlete P to an unavailable state for competition. This prevents multiple matches from being assigned to one information processing device 1.

[0075] When the score management unit 132 records the score of a match in which the first athlete P and the second athlete P compete against each other, the status management unit 133 changes the first status information of the first athlete P and the second athlete P to a state where they are able to compete. Specifically, the status management unit 133 updates the first status information of the first athlete P and the second athlete P that was in a state where they cannot compete during a match to a state where they are able to compete. This allows the athlete P who has finished a match to play in the next match. Note that when athlete P is participating in only one tournament match, the athlete P cannot play a match, so the status management unit 133 may change the first status information of the athlete P who lost the match to a state where they are unable to compete.

[0076] However, if athlete P is assigned to the next match immediately after finishing a match, there is a risk that athlete P will not be able to play the match in good condition. Therefore, the status management unit 133 may update the first status information of athlete P who won the match to a ready-to-play state when a predetermined rest period (e.g., 10 minutes) has elapsed after the score management unit 132 recorded the score of the match.

[0077] The status management unit 133 sets the second status information of a player P who lost a match to a lost status based on the score data. The status management unit 133 may set the second status information corresponding to a player P for whom a combination of a match ID and a court ID is not input within a predetermined time period after the token is transmitted to a lost status. This motivates the called player P to move to the court promptly, thereby improving the efficiency of court usage.

[0078] The predetermined time is determined based on the time required for the athlete P who has received the call to move to the court, and is, for example, 10 minutes. The status management unit 133 may set the predetermined time to be longer when the time elapsed since the end of the most recent match played by the athlete P is less than a threshold value than when the elapsed time is equal to or greater than the threshold value. This makes it easier for the athlete P who has just finished the most recent match to secure time to prepare for the next match.

[0079] There may be cases where a player P who lost a match is participating in another tournament competition in which he or she has not lost a match. In this case, the status management unit 133 sets the first status information of the player P who lost the match to a state where he or she is able to compete and sets the second status information to a state where he or she has been eliminated. If the player P who lost the match is not participating in another tournament competition in which he or she has not lost a match, the status management unit 133 may set the first status information to a state where he or she is not able to compete and sets the second status information to a state where he or she has been eliminated.

[0080] The status management unit 133 may manage the status of the court data. After the athlete management unit 131 transmits the token, the status management unit 133 sets the court status information in the court data to a preparation status. When a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of a game ID and a court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit 131 is input to the referee terminal and the athlete management unit 131 acquires the input game ID and court ID, the status management unit 133 may set the court status information to an in-game status. This updates the court status, and the information provision unit 134, described later, provides court status information, making it easier for those involved in the tournament competition to correctly understand the court status.

[0081] The status management unit 133 may change the court status information to a non-playing state when the score management unit 132 records a score, or when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of a game ID and a court ID included in the token is not input to the referee terminal within a predetermined time after the athlete management unit 131 transmits the token. This allows the athlete management unit 131 to determine the athlete P who will play a game on the court that has become non-playing, preventing the court from becoming vacant.

[0082] The information providing unit 134 provides various information to the information terminal 2 used by the athlete P, the information terminal used by the organizer of the tournament competition, etc. When the information providing unit 134 receives input of a court ID from the information terminal, it provides the information terminal with the state indicated by the court state information corresponding to the court ID.

[0083] When the court status information does not change to "in game" even though a warning start time that is shorter than the time it takes for the second status information to switch to a lost status has elapsed since the court status information changed to "in call," the information providing unit 134 may provide the information terminal with a court ID corresponding to the court status information. The information providing unit 134 may also provide the information terminal with information for identifying the player P assigned to the court, along with the court ID. This makes it easier for other players P or the administrator to find the player P assigned to the court.

[0084] [Processing flow in information processing device 1] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the information processing device 1. The flowchart shown in Fig. 12 starts at the point when one match ends.

[0085] The athlete management unit 131 refers to the court status information in the court data to identify an available court (S11). The athlete management unit 131 also refers to the athlete data to identify athlete P who played a match immediately before on the identified court as the referee (S12). The score management unit 132 sends an instruction to the information terminal 2 used by the identified athlete P to display a match information input screen such as that shown in FIG. 5 (S13).

[0086] Next, the athlete management unit 131 determines multiple athletes P who will next play a match on the court identified in S11 (S14). If the tournament competition pairings are predetermined and data indicating the pairings is stored in the memory unit 12, the athlete management unit 131 selects one combination from the multiple combinations indicated by the data stored in the memory unit 12, and determines the multiple athletes P corresponding to the selected combination as the multiple athletes P who will next play a match on the identified court. The athlete management unit 131 transmits a token including a match ID and a court ID to the multiple athletes P determined (S15).

[0087] Thereafter, the score management unit 132 determines whether or not the game ID and court ID corresponding to the token transmitted in S15 have been received from the referee terminal (S16). If the game ID and court ID have been received (YES in S16), the score management unit 132 determines whether or not the combination of the received game ID and court ID matches the combination of the game ID and court ID transmitted in S15 (S17).

[0088] If the score management unit 132 determines that there is a match (YES in S17), it allows the score to be entered by sending a notification to the referee terminal permitting the score to be entered (S18). The referee terminal that receives the notification displays a score registration screen such as that shown in FIG.

[0089] When the communication unit 11 receives the score from the referee terminal, the score management unit 132 registers the received score by storing the score in the memory unit 12 in association with the athlete P (S19). The status management unit 133 changes the court status information of the court where the match for which the communication unit 11 received the score was being played to "not in match" (S20).

[0090] If the athlete management unit 131 determines in S16 that the token has not been transmitted (NO in S16), or if the athlete management unit 132 determines in S17 that the IDs do not match (NO in S17), the score management unit 132 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the athlete management unit 131 transmitted the token in S15 (S21). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the score management unit 132 repeats the processes of S16 and S17.

[0091] If the score management unit 132 determines that a predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S21), the status management unit 133 sets the second status information of the multiple athletes P who transmitted tokens in S15 to a eliminated state (S22). In this case, the control unit 13 returns the process to S14, and the athlete management unit 131 determines a new athlete P (S14). Note that if the communication unit 11 receives from the referee terminal the correct game ID and court ID declared by one of the multiple athletes P, the status management unit 133 does not set the second status information of that athlete P to a eliminated state. The status management unit 133 sets only the athlete P who did not declare the correct game ID and court ID to a eliminated state.

[0092] After the status management unit 133 changes the court status information in S20, the control unit 13 refers to the score data stored in the memory unit 12 and determines whether all the matches have been completed (S23). If the control unit 13 determines that all the matches have not been completed (NO in S23), it repeats the processes from S11 to S23. If the control unit 13 determines that all the matches have been completed (YES in S23), it ends the process. Note that the order of the processes in the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 is merely an example, and the processes may be executed in a different order.

[0093] [Effects of information processing device 1] As explained above, the athlete management unit 131 determines multiple athletes P who will compete in a match to be played on an available court, and transmits a token including a match ID and a court ID to the information terminal 2 of each of the multiple athletes P. After the athlete management unit 131 transmits the token, the score management unit 132 enables the score of the match to be registered, on the condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID entered at the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token.

[0094] This allows multiple players P to quickly start a match on a vacant court without the organizer having to contact the players P. As a result, tournament-style competitions held on multiple courts can be run more efficiently. Furthermore, since vacant courts can be used efficiently, the time required for tournament competitions can be shortened.

[0095] The present invention has been described above using embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically distributing or integrating any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination also have the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1. Information processing equipment 2. Information terminal 11 Communications Department 12 Storage section 13 Control Unit 131 Competitor Management Department 132 Score Management Department 133 Status Management Department 134 Information Provision Department

Claims

1. An information processing device for supporting the management of a tournament competition held using a plurality of courts, a player management unit that determines a first player and a second player from among a plurality of players who will compete in a match to be played on an available court, and transmits to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player a token including a match ID for identifying a match to be played between the first player and the second player from among a plurality of matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played; a score management unit that enables recording of the score of a match between the first and second players, on the condition that a combination of a match ID and a court ID input at a referee terminal after the player management unit transmits the token matches the combination of a match ID and a court ID included in the token transmitted by the player management unit; An information processing device having the above.

2. the player management unit, in response to the score being recorded by the score management unit, determines the first player and the second player who will compete against each other in the next match on the court where the match in which the score was recorded by the score management unit was played; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the score management unit displays a screen for inputting a score on the referee terminal, on the condition that the combination of the match ID and court ID input on the referee terminal matches the combination of the match ID and court ID included in the token transmitted by the athlete management unit; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. a storage unit that stores first status information that indicates whether the plurality of athletes are in a competition-ready state or a competition-unready state, in association with the plurality of athletes; the athlete management unit selects the first athlete and the second athlete whose first status information indicates a compete-ready state; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. a status management unit that changes the first status information of a player who has transmitted predetermined information posted at a venue where the tournament is held to a status where the player is ready to compete; The information processing device according to claim 4 .

6. The system further comprises a status management unit that, when the athlete management unit selects the first athlete and the second athlete, changes the first status information corresponding to the first athlete and the second athlete to an unavailable state, and, when the score management unit records the score of a match in which the first athlete and the second athlete compete, changes the first status information of the first athlete and the second athlete to an available state. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

7. a storage unit that stores second status information associated with the plurality of competitors and indicating whether or not the competitors have been eliminated from the tournament competition in which they are participating; the athlete management unit selects the first athlete and the second athlete whose second status information does not indicate a lost state; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. a combination of the game ID and the court ID associated with each of the first athlete and the second athlete is input to the referee terminal; the information processing device further comprises a status management unit that sets the second status information corresponding to the player who does not input the combination of the game ID and the court ID within a predetermined time period after transmitting the token to a defeated state. The information processing device according to claim 7 .

9. a storage unit that stores, in association with the plurality of players, first status information indicating whether the player is in a playable state or a play-unable state, and second status information indicating whether the player is in a lost state in a tournament competition in which the player is participating among the plurality of tournament competitions held using the plurality of courts; the athlete management unit selects, for each match of the plurality of tournament competitions, the first athlete and the second athlete whose first status information indicates a competeable state and whose second status information does not indicate an eliminated state. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. a storage unit that stores status information indicating whether the group is in a competition-enabled state or a competition-disabled state in association with the group; the athlete management unit selects, as the first athlete and the second athlete, athletes who belong to a group whose status information indicates that they are available to compete; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

11. a storage unit that stores participation information associated with the plurality of players and indicating the tournament competitions in which the players will participate among the plurality of tournament competitions held using the plurality of courts; the player management unit, when there is a court available for a match, refers to the participation information and preferentially determines the first player and the second player for a match in the tournament competition with a relatively large number of participants; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

12. a storage unit that stores the court ID, the first player, the second player, and court status information indicating the status of the court corresponding to the court ID in association with each other; a status management unit that sets the court status information to a preparation status after the athlete management unit transmits the token, and sets the court status information to a match in progress status when a match ID and court ID combination that matches the match ID and court ID combination included in the token is input to the referee terminal; an information providing unit that, when receiving an input of the court ID from an information terminal, provides the information terminal with a state indicated by the court state information corresponding to the court ID; further comprising The information processing device according to claim 1 .

13. a storage unit that stores court status information indicating whether a game is in progress or not in association with the court ID; a status management unit that sets the court status information to an in-game state when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of the game ID and the court ID included in the token is input to the referee terminal after the athlete management unit has transmitted the token, and sets the court status information to a non-in-game state when the score management unit records a score or when a combination of a game ID and a court ID that matches the combination of the game ID and the court ID included in the token is not input to the referee terminal within a predetermined time after the athlete management unit transmitted the token; and the player management unit determines the first player and the second player who will play a game on the court whose court status information indicates that the game is not in progress, and transmits the token. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

14. An information processing method executed by a computer to support the management of a tournament competition held using multiple courts, comprising: determining a first player and a second player from the plurality of players to compete in a match to be played on the available courts; transmitting a token to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first player and the second player among a plurality of matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying a court on which the match is to be played; a step of enabling recording of the score of the match between the first player and the second player on the condition that a combination of a match ID and a court ID inputted into the referee terminal after transmitting the token matches the combination of the match ID and the court ID included in the transmitted token; An information processing method comprising:

15. On the computer, determining a first player and a second player from the plurality of players to compete in a match to be played on the available courts; transmitting a token to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player, the token including a match ID for identifying a match between the first player and the second player among a plurality of matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying a court on which the match is to be played; a step of enabling recording of the score of the match between the first player and the second player on the condition that a combination of a match ID and a court ID inputted into the referee terminal after transmitting the token matches the combination of the match ID and the court ID included in the transmitted token; A program to execute.

16. An information processing device for supporting the management of a tournament competition held on a plurality of courts, and an information terminal used by players participating in the tournament competition, The information processing device includes: a player management unit that determines a first player and a second player from among a plurality of players who will compete in a match to be played on an available court, and transmits to a first information terminal used by the first player and a second information terminal used by the second player a token including a match ID for identifying a match to be played between the first player and the second player from among a plurality of matches included in the tournament, and a court ID for identifying the court on which the match will be played; a score management unit that enables recording of the score of a match between the first and second players, on the condition that a combination of a match ID and a court ID input at a referee terminal after the player management unit transmits the token matches the combination of a match ID and a court ID included in the token transmitted by the player management unit; and When the information terminal receives the token, it displays the game ID and the court ID included in the received token. Information processing system.

Images